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Design and development research is the systematic study of design, development, and evaluation processes with the aim of establishing an empirical basis for the creation of instructional and noninstructional products and tools and new or enhanced models that govern their development. It addresses an issue of perennial concern raised by scholars of educational technology over the last half century. For example in 1953, James Finn proclaimed that the field suffered from gadgeteering reflecting a poverty of thought, and he advocated for research to help to professionalize the field. Thirty years later, Robert Heinich encouraged scholars to conduct field-based research to improve educational technology practices. More recently, Rita Richey and James Klein observed that few design models, strategies, and tools employed by practitioners have been empirically tested and validated. As a consequence, these authors have called for the use of design and development research to address this gap.

In its simplest form, design and development research is the study of the process and impact of specific design and development efforts, or the study of the design and development process as a whole, or of particular process components. Such research can involve a situation in which someone is studying the design and development work of others. However, it can also involve a situation in which someone is undertaking design and development activities and studying the process at the same time. In either case, there is a distinction between doing design and development and studying the process. This entry discusses types of design and development research and alternative approaches to design and development research.

Types of Design and Development Research

As with all research endeavors, design and development research leads to knowledge production and the ability to make predictions. Design and development research reaches these goals through two large categories of studies: (1) product and tool research and (2) model research. These two major categories differ in terms focus and outcome.

The first type pertains primarily to studies of the design and development of products and tools. Often the entire design and development process is documented. However, some studies concentrate on one aspect of design and development, such as formative evaluation. Many recent product and tool studies focus on the design and development of technology-based instruction. There is a tendency to combine the task of doing design and development and studying the processes in this type of research.

The second type of design and development research relates to studies of the development, validation, or use of design and development models. These studies focus on the models and processes themselves, rather than their demonstration. While some researchers conduct model research in conjunction with the development of a product or program, others concentrate on a previously developed intervention. Model research may address the validity or effectiveness of an existing or newly constructed development model, process, or technique. Furthermore, these studies often seek to identify and describe the conditions that facilitate successful design and development.

Design and development research encompasses studies with conclusions that are both generalizable and contextually specific. This reflects the fact that product and tool research typically involves studies that describe and analyze the design and development processes used in particular projects, and are thus, to a great extent, context bound. In contrast, model research studies are oriented toward a general analysis of design and development processes. These studies tend to be more generalizable than product studies.

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